Fauna Encounters

Fauna Encounters is a random encounter in Tales from the Tiers.

Transcript
220 You tense as a heavy gray form flashes across the path before you: long, ribbed horns curve in graceful arcs from its skull, and hooves thunder against the stone. An ibex! Hundreds of pounds of muscle, hide, and bone, quick and crafty, and you with only a moment to react. Marching your way along a backcountry road, you spot a small flock of rotund, feathered beasts waddling around through the grass down the hill. You recognize them as flightless - irritable birds whose tough flesh seems a staple of life for many communities in the Tiers. You could almost certainly pick one of the creatures off for your dinner. As you walk along the bank of a small streams, you hear splashing coming from the reedy shallows. You recognize it as the sound of the rushfish. While no delicacy, the flesh of the rushfish is a common staple in Tiersmen cuisine. You look down into the water and see three of the whiskered creatures, fat and oblivious... A rabbit stands statue still just off of the road ahead of you. As you come to a stop, its brown ear twitches, and you suspect that it's about to bolt into the nearby underbrush. As you walk along a lonely stretch of open road, you see a single dog walking towards you. Its front right paw must be bad, judging by its uneven limp. A few breaks in its matted fur outline old scars. If it's noticed you, it hasn't given any indication of the fact. As you pick your way across the rocky wilderness, you find what you at first take to be a bundle of cloth. Brief investigation, however, reveals it to be the dry, discarded scales of a serpent. Spreading it out, you realize the reptile must be twice your height and as thick as a gatepost. Snakes of the Tiers are often venomous, but their meat is light, if chewy, with a flavor generally considered superior to the flightless birds that the Tiersmen prefer to hunt. A serpent of this size, however, may not be worth the effort... Taking a break from your journey at a small freshwater pond, you notice several small troughs in the soft soil at the water's edge. Mud has been splattered about, and you recognize it as a telltale sign of wild hogs. Nearby hoof prints confirm your suspicions. The markings seem fresh; the animal can't be far. You make out a light rustling not far from your campsite. Wary of an ambush, you quietly flank the source of the sound only to come upon a foot-long grayish tube of flesh: a graveworm. These pallid creatures do much to enrich the soil of the Tiers, but their meat can also make a bland, chewy meal if need dictates. Hunt it. Let it go. Have Kills-in-Shadow hunt it. Have Verse hunt it. You have but a single chance to bring down the enormous, yet nimble beast... The foul-tempered birds seem largely unaware of you for the moment... As you look down on the slimy fish, they pay you no mind... The rabbit watches you with a single dark eye. The canine looks up at you, its tongue lolls out between its teeth, and it lets out the briefest hint of a high-pitched whine. You peer down at the dried husk... You find what you suspect are hoof prints in the muck... The graveworm undulates slowly in the light of Terratus Grave, its rubbery gray skin speckled with bits of soil... You decide to leave the animal be and instead continue on your journey. Without hesitation, the Shadowhunter lurches after the animal, fur bristling over rippling muscle. You quickly lose sight of Kills-in-Shadow and her quarry. The Beastwoman chuffs quietly at your request before slipping into the grass on all fours, limbs splayed out in every direction to keep her belly close to the soil. Soon she's gone. The Shadowhunter regards your request with a cocked head and twitching ear. "Am not Mantaborn. Am not named Gills-in-Shallows. Do not swim-splash for food." She turns from you with a snort. The Beastwoman chuffs quietly at your request before slipping into the grass on all fours, limbs splayed out in every direction to keep her belly close to the soil. Soon she's gone. The Beastwoman walks over to the dog, her knuckles brushing the dusty ground. She scratches the dog behind the ear with a single long claw, then scoops her up and brings her to you. She sets the dog on the ground, then holds your eye in hers. "Beastwoman brought dog to human who smells of Fatebinder." She then lopes away, leaving you with the dog. It looks up at you, crooked tail wagging. The Shadowhunter chuffs softly before going to her knuckles, back arched, nose low to the ground. She sniffs the discarded skin, then crawls away into the brush. Without hesitation, the Shadowhunter lurches after the animal, fur bristling over rippling muscle. You quickly lose sight of Kills-in-Shadow and her quarry. "Human who smells of Fatebinder eats soil beast?" She shrugs, and approaches the worm, which makes a lethargic, belated attempt to burrow away. The Shadowhunter effortlessly yanks its head from the dirt, and brings it to you. It undulates slowly in her palm, but has little way to defend itself. Her thought and action one, Verse has an arrow nocked even as you give the order. She tracks the creature for only a moment before letting fly. The arrow catches it in the hindquarters, sending it stumbling before it regains its footing and barrels on along the rocks. Verse lets out a primal howl and takes off after it, dancing along the stones with at least as much grace as her quarry. When she returns half an hour later, it is without the beast. She shrugs and says, "It's fucking heavy, Binder." She instead leads you to the carcass. Verse grins. "Used to do this on the farm. Knew I wasn't worthwhile if I couldn't catch a flightless barehanded. Still got a few scars. Vicious little shits." She hunkers down and slips into the grass. As you watch, she makes her way down to the edge of the clearing, then leaps forth, running among the flightless and sending them fleeing in every direction. Like a great cat, she picks out one and gives chase, leaping upon it and wrestling it to the dirt. When she makes her way back up the hill, she's leaking from a few new cuts, but her smile is brighter than her blood. "Like shooting fish in a stream," Verse quips as she readies an arrow. Flashing moments later she's pulled the slimy creatures from the muck and presented them to you, skewered on her feathered shafts. Verse looks at you, looks to the rabbit, looks back at you. "Really?" Her hands rest on her hips. "You can't think of any better use for my time?" In a flash you can barely follow, she hurls a dagger from sheathe to rabbit's belly, pinning it to the soil. She walks over, draws the blade from the dirt, wipes it on her tattered apparel, and walks away, leaving the twitching rabbit carcass for you. Verse meets your request with blinking disbelief. "Are you kidding me, Fatebinder?" She gestures at the dog. "Dogs are hunters, not for hunting. And this one's clearly earned her rest. Leave her be." Verse looks the discarded husk over. "You sure you want to tangle with something large enough to leave THAT behind?" She shrugs, readies an arrow, and leaves the road behind. You hear her return before you see her, and when she comes into sight she's dragging a massive snake behind her, hands grasping the shaft of the arrow driven entirely through the creature's head. She heaves it to the ground, panting, and wipes her brow. "Next time," she manages between heavy breaths, "you get to, manhandle the snake." "With pleasure," Verse says with a grin. She sniffs her armpits, nods slightly, then glances up at you. "What? They can smell you coming if you're not careful." She stalks off of the road. Hours later, she returns empty-handed and scowling. "Leave it," she grunts as she turns down the road. A final muttered oath makes its way to you: "Fucking pigs." Verse stares at you. "I'm here to protect you, remember? Feeding you graveworm... I'm pretty sure that's the opposite." She walks away, shaking her head. Kill it. Care for it. Leave it be. The dog makes no attempt to prevent your deathblow. Indeed, she doesn't seem to see it coming. The meat is gamey and tough, but filling. You pet the dog and feed it some of your rations, and she pants, tail wagging tiredly. You eventually move on, bringing the dog with you, and you leave her with a youth from a village along your route who takes a shining to her. As you leave her, the dog watches you go, even as she nuzzles into her new master. Perhaps smelling your rations, perhaps simply lonely, the dog follows you for a time, her limp cursing her to fall behind. Eventually she gives up on trailing you and turns back, continuing in the direction from which you came. Shoot it with an arrow. Throw a javelin at it. Attack with Stone magic. The arrow sinks into the ibex's flank and it stumbles, crashing to the ground. It struggles to stand, kicking up dirt and dust as it lashes out with hoofed feet. Even as it rights itself you place another arrow into its eye and it collapses, twitching as its life blood runs from its wounds. In a flash you have your arrow nocked and let loose... The projectile sinks into the ibex's front leg, sending it sprawling to the earth. It tries to force itself to its feet, lashing out wildly with its hooves. You ready another javelin and throw it true, planting it between the beast's ribs and directly into its heart. You slide a javelin free from your gear and raise it above your shoulder, muscles tensing as you hurl it at the retreating animal... Your fingers twist and bend, shaping a growing sigil between them as arcane radiance limns your form. Time seems to dilate as the ibex bounds past trees and among rocks. You release the torrential power flowing through you, reaching towards the animal to direct the force of the spell at your target... The spell strikes a tree, reducing it to a cloud of splinters. The ibex moved more quickly than your magic, and you hear it springing to safety through the wilderness. The arrow sinks into a tree as the ibex bounds behind it. You have a second arrow nocked almost instantly, but by then the ibex has already disappeared into the wilderness, leaving behind only the noise of its passage. The javelin sinks into a tree as the ibex bounds behind it. You try to ready a second, but by then the ibex has already disappeared into the wilderness, leaving behind only the noise of its passage. Grab one. Shoot one with an arrow. Spear one. Attack with Fire magic. With little hesitation you pounce among the dun-feathered birds like a predator, sending them scrambling... You move carefully and quietly, keeping low, and draw back an arrow on the string. Your muscles tense as you line up the shot... Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. Your limbs lashing out like lightning, you manage to wrap your arms around one of the flightless, tackling it to the ground. For a moment it seems naught but a beak and claws, all digging at your skin, trying to fight its way free, but your fingers clasp around the bird's neck. With a resounding snap, you end its struggle. You stand and brush yourself off, sure that your catch will provide a meal or two. Your limbs lashing out like lightning, you throw yourself at a flightless... and catch only dirt. The screeching birds scatter from you, disappearing into the undergrowth as you get back to your feet. Your missile strikes true, burying itself almost to the fletching in the bird. The rest of the flock scatters as you retrieve your kill. Looking down at the flightless as its breathing ceases, you see that it's even larger than you initially thought. Your missile sinks into the soil at the bird's feet, missing it by a hair's breadth. With a cacophonous screeching, the flightless scatter. Your second arrow fares no better, and soon the birds have vanished into the underbrush. Shoot one with an arrow. Catch one with a lure. The slow moving fish make for easy targets, and you manage to shoot two before the others scramble into deeper waters. Grabbing the arrow shafts, you pull the fish from the water and bring them back to the shore. Despite their lethargy, you manage to miss two rushfish with your shots, and the beasts swim away into the darker depths. The slow moving fish make for easy targets, and you manage to spear two before the others scramble into deeper waters. Lifting your spear, you pull the fish from the water and bring them back to the shore. Despite their lethargy, you manage to miss every rushfish with your jabs, and the beasts swim away into the darker depths. While no fisherman, you know a thing or two about rushfish feeding habits from your studies of the natural world. You thread and tie off a needle before bending it into a rough hook, then push it through the fatty thorax of a carob beetle. You wait by the shore, spying out a likely target, then lower the carob beetle into the water. Surely enough, the fish swallows the insect whole. With a sharp yank, you set the hook, and then pull the heavy catch from the water. You stare at the water for a time, watching the fish move. Perhaps if you had some manner of trap for them... You rig a noose of sorts, a loop of rope and a slipknot. You lay it in the path of the fish, waiting for one to swim through it. When one does, you pull quickly to tighten the rope. The fish easily flops free of your trap. This clumsy process plays out a few more times before you discard both your plans and your hope for a dinner of rushfish. Beastmen rarely hunt rushfish - they provide little meat relative to the effort required - but when there's ample bait, the agile fish become a patient hunter's bounty. You learned when you were still young how to catch some mudbugs, thread line through them, and set them as lures. You wait patiently, allowing the crustaceans to burrow into soil near the shore. You easily draw two of the fleshy animals from the water. 100 Shoot it with an arrow. 101 Chase it. 102 Attack with Fire magic. 103 Almost before you begin to move the rabbit's hind legs extend, launching it into the underbrush. You chase after it, but it dives into a hole before you get near it. You thrust your arm after it, hoping to grasp the critter, but your fingers close only on air. 104 Moving slowly so as not to disturb the rabbit, you nock an arrow, take aim, and loose. The rabbit hits the ground moments later, the arrow protruding from both sides of its body. 105 You nock an arrow, but your movement disturbs the anxious animal. It bolts into the underbrush and is gone in moments. 106 Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. 107</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. 108</ID> Track the snake. 109</ID> Track the boar. 110</ID> Collect the worm. 111</ID> As you sweep up the cylindrical beast in your arms, it tries in vain to wriggle back into the dirt. Using a knife, you slice deeply into it, spilling its lukewarm ichor across your arms. You continue to cut it apart, and its constituent parts continue to writhe under your loving ministrations long after any reasonable creature should have expired. At least there's a fair amount of mostly-edible meat. 112</ID> Following the shreds of discarded snake scale requires a sharp eye and patience, but soon enough you find the massive, coiled form of a moth serpent, a large, venomous snake named for the repeated moth-shaped pattern running it down its back. The snake raises its head and flicks a forked tongue in your direction... 113</ID> Moving quietly through the wilds, you follow the torn bark, muddy leaves, and hoof prints that mark the passage of the boars. Soon you come across a small pack of the animals as they rut in the soil for mushrooms. You're downwind of them, and they don't seem to have noticed you... 114</ID> While the boars leave a messy swath through the soil, the tracks end a meandering stream. Try as you might, you are unable to resume the hunt. After an hour with no further sign of the animals, you return to your travels. 115</ID> Your training was always more focused on hunting bipedal humans; tracking slithering creatures by way of discarded skin isn't your specialty. After a few fruitless hours you abandon your hunt and return to the trail. 116</ID> Shoot one with an arrow. 117</ID> Spear one. 118</ID> Attack with Lightning magic. 119</ID> Shoot it with an arrow. 120</ID> Throw a javelin at it. 121</ID> Attack with Fire magic. 122</ID> Moving with collected calm, you raise your bow, draw the string, and sink an arrow directly through the snake's snout. It collapses, the arrowhead jutting from the back of its head. <ID>123</ID> You pull back and let an arrow fly... and miss the snake's head with half a foot to spare. <ID>124</ID> You hurl a javelin at the snake, burying it deep in the reptile's skull. It slumps over, the head of your weapon protruding from the beast's back. <ID>125</ID> Your throw goes wide, missing the snake's head entirely. <ID>126</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>128</ID> You let fly an arrow that strikes true, burying itself to the feathers in a boar's eye socket. The beast falls immediately, its upraised legs twitching as if trying to run on air. <ID>129</ID> Your let fly an arrow, but it skips off of your target's tusk. The boar turns on you and charges you with a screech as its companions scatter into the undergrowth. You manage to get far enough up a tree to avoid the boar's tusks, and it quickly follows its fellows into the brush. <ID>130</ID> The boars respond immediately and poorly to your sudden presence, kicking at you with hooves and raking at you with their tusks. You manage to drive your spear deep into the side of one of them, and it goes down with a plaintive squeal. <ID>131</ID> The boars respond immediately and poorly to your sudden presence, kicking at you with hooves and raking at you with their tusks. You drive your spear at the beasts, but miss once and glance twice off of their thick hide. By the time the last of the boars flees into the undergrowth, you are sweating and breathing heavily. <ID>132</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>134</ID> Lure more worms with Gravelight. <ID>135</ID> "I see you know why they're called 'Graveworms,'" Eb says. "Here, let me help." She raises her hands towards the sky, her fingers twisting, shaping sigils, calling down the light of the Grave, brightening it, spilling it liberally across the soil. The dirt churns, and more of the long, pale creatures wriggle up from the muck, turning sucking mouths towards the sky. Eb gestures with an open palm. "Take your pick, Fatebinder." <ID>136</ID> You force your fingers through the complex, arcane gestures required of Gravelight magic, and the moon seems to brighten, spilling cool gray light across the earth. The soil churns, and several more worms writhe from beneath your feet. Terratus Grave hangs shining above you as you collect and slaughter the worms. <ID>137</ID> You move to the animal and draw a knife, ready to begin the long work of skinning and dressing it. <ID>138</ID> You move to the animal and draw a knife, ready to begin the long work of skinning and dressing it. <ID>139</ID> It's a good catch, a bird large enough to provide a meal or two. <ID>140</ID> You heart thuds rapidly beneath your sternum, and you set yourself to the task of cleaning your prey. <ID>141</ID> It's a good catch, a bird large enough to provide a meal or two. <ID>142</ID> The rushfish are fat and heavy - their weight reassures you that they'll provide a meal, maybe two. <ID>143</ID> The rushfish are fat and heavy - their weight reassures you that they'll provide a meal, maybe two. <ID>144</ID> The rushfish are fat and heavy - their weight reassures you that they'll provide a meal, maybe two. <ID>145</ID> The rushfish are fat and heavy - their weight reassures you that they'll provide a meal, maybe two. <ID>146</ID> You move to the animal and draw a knife, ready to begin the long work of skinning and dressing it. <ID>147</ID> The blast sends the rabbit sprawling, and it lay where it lands, twitching. <ID>148</ID> Either your motions or your sounds spook your prey, however, as it leaps from its position an instant before the spell strikes it. After the dust clears, you find no trace of it. <ID>149</ID> Your spell crashes into the flock, scattering birds in every direction. As you make your way to the target of your spell, you find it lifeless and still. <ID>150</ID> You move to the animal and draw a knife, ready to begin the long work of skinning and dressing it. <ID>151</ID> It lashes out at you, impossibly fast, and slithers away even as you blink at the line of four puncture marks on your arm. Your vision begins to blur even as you stumble back towards the road... <ID>152</ID> Recognizing that dragging two hundred pounds of snake will be prohibitively tiring, you pull out a knife and remove what meat you can carry, taking about half the snake meat with you. <ID>153</ID> Recognizing that dragging two hundred pounds of snake will be prohibitively tiring, you pull out a knife and remove what meat you can carry, taking about half the snake meat with you. <ID>154</ID> It lashes out at you, impossibly fast, and slithers away even as you blink at the line of four puncture marks on your arm. Your vision begins to blur even as you stumble back towards the road... <ID>155</ID> The serpent hisses and spasms as the spell makes short work of the venomous creature. Finally it falls over in a limp pile. <ID>156</ID> Recognizing that dragging two hundred pounds of snake will be prohibitively tiring, you pull out a knife and remove what meat you can carry, taking about half the snake meat with you. <ID>157</ID> The other boars bound into the underbrush, leaving you alone with your catch, an animal large enough to provide plenty of meat and fur. <ID>158</ID> The other boars bound into the underbrush, leaving you alone with your catch, an animal large enough to provide plenty of meat and fur. <ID>159</ID> The blast catches one of the animals, sending it sprawling even as the others scatter into the brush. <ID>160</ID> The other boars bound into the underbrush, leaving you alone with your catch, an animal large enough to provide plenty of meat and fur. <ID>161</ID> You wait a time, and just as you are on the verge of moving on without her, Kills-in-Shadow reappears, grinning under the weight of the ibex draped from her shoulders. Blood seeps from an ugly red hole between her ribs; when she sees you looking at it, she chuffs. "Is small scratch, shallow, like bee sting. Is nothing for such prize." <ID>162</ID> After several minutes, a chorus of panicked squawking rises from the scattering flightless. Kills-in-Shadow comes loping back, the wrung neck of a bird in each hand. "One for prima," she says, dropping the flightless at your feet. "One for hunter." She takes her grisly prize and chews off a bloody hunk of flesh. <ID>163</ID> You hear thrashing brush and low snarls for several minutes before she returns, the rabbit hanging from her clawed hand. "Long ears make quick for dirt homes," she complains, tossing the rabbit at your feet. She lowers herself to her haunches and begins picking herself clean, mumbling about the cowardice of prey. <ID>164</ID> When she returns, it's with a massive snake draped over her shoulders, its head almost as large as one of her great paws. She heaves it to the ground in a messy coil. "Long scale had strength of twelve men," she says through grinning yellow teeth, "but only one jaw. Kills-in-Shadows has jaw and four claws. Human who smells of Fatebinder must find bigger challenge for Kills-in-Shadow." <ID>165</ID> Hours later she returns cradling a limp sow in the crook of one long arm. She lays it out, licking her lips. "Man boar like coward fled," she reports. "Woman boar met death proudly." She chuffs, then strikes a closed fist against her chest. "Am not surprised. Will have mine raw. Will swallow her blood. Will add her strength to own." <ID>166</ID> Continue... <ID>167</ID> Continue... <ID>168</ID> Continue... <ID>169</ID> Continue... <ID>170</ID> Continue... <ID>171</ID> Continue... <ID>172</ID> Continue... <ID>173</ID> Continue... <ID>174</ID> Continue... <ID>175</ID> Continue... <ID>176</ID> Continue... <ID>177</ID> Continue... <ID>178</ID> Continue... <ID>179</ID> Continue... <ID>180</ID> Continue... <ID>181</ID> Continue... <ID>182</ID> Continue... <ID>183</ID> Continue... <ID>184</ID> Continue... <ID>185</ID> Continue... <ID>186</ID> Continue... <ID>187</ID> Continue... <ID>188</ID> Continue... <ID>189</ID> Continue... <ID>190</ID> Continue... <ID>191</ID> Continue... <ID>192</ID> Continue... <ID>193</ID> Continue... <ID>194</ID> Continue... <ID>195</ID> Continue... <ID>196</ID> Continue... <ID>197</ID> Continue... <ID>198</ID> Continue... <ID>199</ID> Continue... <ID>201</ID> Attack with Lightning magic. <ID>202</ID> Attack with Frost magic. <ID>203</ID> Attack with Frost magic. <ID>204</ID> Attack with Force magic. <ID>205</ID> Attack with Lightning magic. <ID>206</ID> Attack with Stone magic. <ID>207</ID> Attack with Stone magic. <ID>208</ID> Attack with Force magic. <ID>209</ID> Attack with Lightning magic. <ID>210</ID> Attack with Frost magic. <ID>211</ID> Spear one. <ID>212</ID> The slow moving fish make for easy targets, and you manage to spear two before the others scramble into deeper waters. Lifting your spear, you pull the fish from the water and bring them back to the shore. <ID>213</ID> Your fingers twist and bend, shaping a growing sigil between them as arcane radiance limns your form. Time seems to dilate as the ibex bounds past trees and among rocks. You release the torrential power flowing through you, reaching towards the animal to direct the force of the spell at your target... <ID>214</ID> Your fingers twist and bend, shaping a growing sigil between them as arcane radiance limns your form. Time seems to dilate as the ibex bounds past trees and among rocks. You release the torrential power flowing through you, reaching towards the animal to direct the force of the spell at your target... <ID>215</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>216</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>217</ID> Continue... <ID>218</ID> Continue... <ID>219</ID> The spell strikes a tree, reducing it to a cloud of splinters. The ibex moved more quickly than your magic, and you hear it springing to safety through the wilderness. <ID>220</ID> The spell strikes a tree, reducing it to a cloud of splinters. The ibex moved more quickly than your magic, and you hear it springing to safety through the wilderness. <ID>221</ID> Continue... <ID>222</ID> Continue... <ID>223</ID> Your spell crashes into the flock, scattering birds in every direction. As you make your way to the target of your spell, you find it lifeless and still. <ID>224</ID> Your spell crashes into the flock, scattering birds in every direction. As you make your way to the target of your spell, you find it lifeless and still. <ID>225</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>226</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>227</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>228</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>229</ID> Continue... <ID>230</ID> Continue... <ID>231</ID> Continue... <ID>232</ID> Continue... <ID>233</ID> The blast sends the rabbit sprawling, and it lay where it lands, twitching. <ID>234</ID> Either your motions or your sounds spook your prey, however, as it leaps from its position an instant before the spell strikes it. After the dust clears, you find no trace of it. <ID>235</ID> The blast sends the rabbit sprawling, and it lay where it lands, twitching. <ID>236</ID> Either your motions or your sounds spook your prey, however, as it leaps from its position an instant before the spell strikes it. After the dust clears, you find no trace of it. <ID>237</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>238</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>239</ID> Continue... <ID>240</ID> Continue... <ID>241</ID> The serpent hisses and spasms as the spell makes short work of the venomous creature. Finally it falls over in a limp pile. <ID>242</ID> The serpent hisses and spasms as the spell makes short work of the venomous creature. Finally it falls over in a limp pile. <ID>243</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>244</ID> Staying low, you let muscle memory guide your hands and fingers in forming the sigils of the Archons. Arcane power gathers around you, and with a final gesture, you channel it towards your prey. <ID>245</ID> The blast catches one of the animals, sending it sprawling even as the others scatter into the brush. <ID>246</ID> The blast catches one of the animals, sending it sprawling even as the others scatter into the brush. <ID>247</ID> Continue... <ID>248</ID> Continue...